


Exposition Confidentielle

by StratusDoll



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Origins Spoilers, Post-Volpina, love square
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-15
Updated: 2016-09-02
Packaged: 2018-07-15 07:38:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7213600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StratusDoll/pseuds/StratusDoll
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the close call in the battle with Volpina, Master Fu tells Marinette the secrets of the Miraculous stones, and tells her the next step Ladybug and Chat Noir must take in defeating their sworn enemy, Hawkmoth.</p><p>Fic was inspired by a comic drawn by http://naptillmorning.tumblr.com/</p><p>(If you haven't read the comic, I suggest not looking it up until I leave a link to it. Major spoilers for the fic!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I recognize that a season two is coming in 2k17, but I'm also very impatiant, soooo I'm just going to say here that this fic branches away from canon after Volpina/the origins episodes. So, without further adiou, welcome to hell.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A step closer to Hawkmoth is more stressful of a concept than you might think

It was never truely dark in Paris.

During daylight, the sun shone brightly, rain or shine. If the light had to filter through the clouds to make its way to the faces of the people below, so be it. At night, the city was alive with the moon and stars, as well as the millions of other light sources. From the streetlights to the brightly dotted spines that wove their way up the rafts and rails of the Eiffel Tower, not a single street was left in shadow.

Paris could, however, be gloomy.

On those rainy days, the city only looked sad if the viewer wished to see a sad city. The nights that came after them, however, always hung a little heavy on the shoulders of the skyline. Without the moon and stars, and with frequent raindrops to twist and blur the artificial lighting of the streets, Paris became home to a general feeling of unease. Such nights were only slightly less lively than the bright ones. Only a small handful of citizens would huddle in their homes and cling to the warm safe feeling of the walls, while the vast majority simply bundled up and brought their umbrellas to go along their usual business. Said vast majority pretended not to feel the weight that hung in the thunderous silence of the night, but still contributed by casting their eyes toward the pavement.

Tonight, as the black-spotted heroine brought her plain black umbrella with her to the usual rendezvous point, was one such night.

"Good evening, my lady." Chat Noir purred from his stance at the center of the roof. Were it not for the reflective green cat eyes granted to him by his suit, one could have easily mistaken him and his umbrella as a covered chimney.

"Evening, Chat." Ladybug pursed her lips and sat on the edge of the roof, patting the space behind her "I have to talk to you seriously for a minute."

"Something wrong?" Chat asked, dropping most (but never all) of his self-assured snark. He paced over to the edge of the roof and sat beside his partner, glancing up breifly as their umbrellas bumped together. He looked back to Ladybug, and her mirror blue eyes shone with focus.

"No." Ladybug answered, then made a face and cocked her head to the side "Yes? Not really. I just... there's a thing I'm supposed to tell you about, and I can't put it off anymore.

Chat Noir took a hopeful breath and held it, just as he did any time his lady said anything that gave him a hint toward her civilian self. He had almost gotten over the hope that she would reveal herself to him, but never completely.

"Three days ago, after Volpina," Ladybug started, glancing to her side for an escape for just a moment before remembering her target and locking eyes again "my Kwami sent me to find the Miraculous holder who gave us our stones. His name is Master Fu, he's a very nice old man, and he's been counting on us to keep them away from Hawkmoth."

Her empty hand reached up to touch her earlobe, and her eyes looked down at the ring on Chat's right hand. She took a deep breath before continuing.

"We haven't let him down yet, and because of... recent events... he told me some things about Hawkmoth that should, in the long run, help us stop him."

Immediately, Chat Noir's stomach dropped. Ladybug finally let their eye contact go, which only made it worse. Hawkmoth was the greatest threat to Paris that Adrien had ever seen in his (admittedly short) life. As heroes, it was his and Ladybug's job to find a way to stop him from continuing his attacks as quick as they found a chance, but it had been so easy to fall into the rhythm of a villain a week. So easy, to meet up later in the week on night patrol for extra measure. So so easy, to use civilian's danger as an excuse to see his lady at least twice every week, possibly a blissful third or even fourth. Chat Noir and Ladybug didn't need to exist if Hawkmoth didn't. If Adrien had to give up his mask and his lady, what would he have left?

Ladybug started her speech, telling him about the significance of their stones. When used together the Ladybug and Black Cat stones could grant powers like that of a God to a user. She told him about the balance the two held between good luck and bad, and between creation and destruction. She told him that it was another Miraculous user who was after the power no one should have.

At the end of the spiel, Chat was speechless. He lifted his right hand to examine his ring, with its bright green pads glowing in the dark the storm had granted. He then looked to his lady's earlobe, squinting to see the not-so-illuminated earing barely hidden behind her hair. Ladybug took a moment to scan her partner's face, making sure that what she had said was sticking with him, and then slowly started speaking again.

"So the civilian behind Hawkmoth. It has to be someone who has a purpose. People don't go looking for that kind of power without something important to them being at stake. He- he might be someone who has suffered a loss, or who doesn't have much to lose anyway. It's not much, but..." she trailed off. Chat Noir was still starring in wide-eyed shock, making her tense. She realized then how closely she was sitting and scooted away, their umbrellas falling free of each other and sagging inward. A beat, and she started to speak-

"Do you really think we have to patrol today?" Chat asked, cutting off her next thought. This time it was Ladybug's stomach that flipped. She was no happier than he was, because although she couldn't feel the way he so blatantly did, Chat Noir was her partner. He was, quite literally, her balancing force. The thought of never being Ladybug again was heavy, but heavier was the idea of never fighting or patrolling beside Chat again. And yet she still couldn't take this opportunity to tell him- "Because, I'd say Paris is pretty safe for now, and just sitting with you sounds a thousand times better than jumping around on rooftops."

"Oh." The knotted tension that wracked every muscle and nerve in Marinette's small frame eased and vanished, letting a sigh betray her "Just this once."

And so sat the two teenage heros on the edge of a Parisian rooftop, holding two black umbrellas to keep the dull throb of the rain off of their backs. It would be nice to say that they spoke of possible people of interest, that they spent this time theorizing and taking steps closer to unmasking their mysterious rival, but that would be farthest from the truth. Instead, the two laughed about movies and exchanged favorite book and comic titles. They told stories of dumb things they had done before the Miraculous' had ever made an appearance in their lives, keeping it vague enough that neither could guess the other's identity, not that either were trying to. Even Chat couldn't be bothered to wonder right then. The two had forgotten time and place for as long as they could, before a pulsing beep came from Chat's right hand.

The two exchanged sad, knowing glances as the conversation came to a schreeching silence. Before either of them could speak, a similar chime answered from Ladybug's earrings. And so she stood up and gathered her composure as her partner rose to his full height. He towered over her, hands twitching nervously in front of his chest. He wanted to reach out to her and... what? Hug her? Kiss her? Stupid.

You're leaving it out and what's worse you're leaving it out on purpose! Tikki screamed in Marinette's head, causing her to cringe and shake the thoughts out. She still had time, there was no need to face her fears quite yet.

Ladybug considered planting a kiss on Chat Noir's cheek, but saw it as too cruel to go through with. She didn't want her innocent gesture to be taken as that of a deeper affection. Instead, she gave an awkward half smile as Chat Noir's ring gave it's second chime.

In the end, it was Chat who made the departing gesture. It was one that he had often attempted, but very solemnly got away with. Taking up Ladybug's left hand in his right, he planted a kiss right where her knuckles met her index and middle fingers. She pulled away just after, catching sight of the three pads left on his ring, and tapped the glowing green charm smugly.

"Later, Chat."

"Goodnight, my lady."

\------------------------

 

Marinette swung into the trap door on her balcony, landing her directly onto her bed just as Tikki rolled out of the earrings. The Kwami fell onto a plush felt pillow with a huff. It only took her a moment to compose herself, while her charge was still rubbing her temples to ease away a headache.

"Marinette!" Tikki raised her tiny voice to its top volume, which still wasn't much. The teen was well aware of her crime, groaning before the lecture even began. "Master Fu would not have told you to exchange identities if it wasn't for your own benefit! Hawkmoth's villians are getting more and more tough as he gets used to using his Miraculous, and Ladybug and Chat Noir need all the syncronization they can get. It's always worked that way! Once you two reveal to each other, and you'll go from a hero duo to- to- to something completely different and better!"

Tikki had zipped around the room while she spoke, finally landing just a foot in front of Marinette's face, stamping her foot on an imaginary floor with arms crossed in stern dissapointment. When she saw the pain behind her eyes, however, the sweethearted creature couldn't help but nuzzle up against her charge.

"I know you're scared, and I wish I could give you more time." she cooed, rubbing a tiny nubbed hand against the girl's forehead "but there isn't much left before the akuma get too big for you to fight with someone you barely know. Lila's still angry. She was difficult enough the first time, and you know they only get worse."

"I know." Marinette said quietly, not wanting to wake her family. She had no excuse; none that she could give to her tiny companion, anyway. The one she gave herself was that if anyone knew both sides of the mask, and knew that they were the same person, the illusion would break. It would be plain, boring old Marinette on the rooftops of Paris instead of Ladybug. She couldn't fight once that barrier was broken. Marinette could never do the things that Ladybug did.

 

\------------------------

 

On the other side of Paris, that same barrier was being melted away as Chat Noir became Adrien Agreste, standing defiantly in the center of his large bedroom for just a moment before the splendor of being a hero wore off and the kid behind the mask sulked over to his bed. Plagg had managed to land on the foot of said bed when he rolled out of the ring, taking all the forward moment that Adrien had dropped by hitting the floor.

"So the cat's almost out of the bag." Plagg mused, zipping off to the mini fridge on the other side of the room to get himself a wheel of cheese. "Betcha thought that meant you were almost done with me, huh?"

"I'll miss you, Plagg." Adrien said, too seriously for Plagg to keep joking without pause "But what if I never get to know Ladybug before I never see her again, either?"

"That was a joke, my friend." The tiny cat swallowed the wheel whole and sat on his boy's ankle, which was crossed over his opposite knee "You're stuck with me for life. Just like she's stuck with her Kwami, and therefore, you're stuck with each other. No one gets out of this."

"But without an enemy to fight-"

"Shhh." Plagg popped up and covered his chosen's mouth with his tiny excuse for a paw "You can still patrol. Paris loves you for some reason. I don't think the city would want to get rid of their heroes anytime soon."

There was a pause, followed by a creeping smile across the boy's face as he realized that for once his Kwami was right.

"Oh no." The smile dropped just as quickly as it had appeared "Ladybug found my dad's book and took it to Master Fu! I'm dead."

"Oh no." Plagg mimicked in an overtly dramatic tone, casting an arm over his eyes and falling onto his back "Your father's going to realize that the weird book he hid away in a sketchy secret compartment is gone and no one's gonna ask him any questions about it when he starts asking where it went to! That's it, you're grounded for life! Seriously, get a grip and go to bed."

The cat flew over to the nightstand beside the bed and curled up in the makeshift bed Adrien had set up for him forever ago. It was just a coiled hand towel with cheese crumbs in it (for fragrence), but if it wasn't the softest hand towel the Kwami had ever felt...

Adrien wanted to argue, and almost found a reason to before realizing that his argument partner was fast asleep. He sighed and turned off his lamp, pulling the blanket over himself to attempt sleep. What came to him was more of a dazed stream of thought than an actual dream, though, and said stream consisted mostly of what exactly two teenage heroes would do on a night patrol after the threat was eliminated for good.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette gets some serious perks from her good luck powers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly I want to say thank you! Just posting the first chapter this fic got so much positive attention! Kudos and Bookmarks are so nice to see, and I certainly wasn't expecting numbers to be this high yet (This almost got 300 hits before I even updated it!!!)! Comments mean the world to me, so shoutout to the two who dropped them on chapter 1. If you have absolutely any feedback you want to give, positive or otherwise (while still being nice hopefully) don't be afraid to drop a comment. Enjoy chapter 2, I look forward to continuing this thing!

The sun was barely falling below the city skyline. A week had passed sense the last patrol, and now was time for the heroes to patrol again. Both parties were tired from the school week, with finals on their heels. It was a good releif to be Ladybug again, though because Marinette was dead tired.

Chat Noir was on the roof waiting for almost a half an hour, because Tikki had refused to put her spots on until Marinette promised to tell her partner the rest of what Master Fu had told her, and that she would go through with the reveal within the next month. It was a difficult promise to make, and took about twenty minutes of convincing.

To say that Adrien was starting to wonder would be an offensive understatement. He had started worrying at the five minute mark. Sense then he had tried to call her through his staff twice every five minutes, and as the reality settled in that she had not even transformed, his worry slowly gave way to disappointment. It wouldn't be the first time a patrol was cancled last minute because of something in civilian life. It was rare, but never failed to ruin his day.

When Ladybug's yo-yo caught the chimney beside him, Chat Noir nearly jumped out of his skin. He quickly scrambled up the roof to the flattened top, breaking away a few shingles in his haste. He felt kind of bad, but how often did whoever owned this building take a good look at the roof, anyway?

Ladybug landed with a sigh, putting her weapon back at her hip as she spoke. "Sorry I'm late. My kwami wanted to talk to me before I transformed."

Because Adrien was used to Plagg, who enjoyed talking quite a bit but never interrupted his schedule to do so, to refuse a transformation until after a quick chat seemed extraordinarily weird. It didn't help that this was the first time Ladybug had ever even mentioned her kwami at all, let alone gave them credit for an inconvenience.

"What about?" asked Chat Noir, after a short pause. It seemed like a fair and normal question, until his lady's eyes darted away from him off to the side and then to his feet. He didn't just feel guilty for asking then, but also for being born and every moment between then and that moment.

"I sort of... left something out last time, and sheeeee" Ladybug rolled her head, managing to meet his eyes again, but a lot of her previous confidence was gone. This sheepish expression looked pretty familiar, actually. "...She thinks its a really important detail. And she's right, I just-"

"What's wrong?" Chat's eyebrows scrunched up together as he focused on her, trying to pin who she was reminding him of but also trying his best to worry about whatever this Fu guy said.

"Well, we're not the first set of Ladybug and Chat Noir." Ladybug started, biting at the corner of her mouth while she paused "Of course, we already knew that, because of the Egyptian writing and the book- but... All of the other pairs of Miraculous users have been stronger when they... when they knew who each other were."

It took Adrien a moment to fully wrap his head around what she had just said to him. He knew who she was, they met at least once every week, possibly more. All he didn't know was-

Who she was.

Slowly, very very slowly, a wicked smile spread across Chat Noir's face. At it's fullest, it was the most true chesire grin anyone had ever accomplished without makeup or computer graphics. The slight glow to his green eyes brightened a shade, and he all but but shouted claws in before Ladybug quickly spoke again.

"So we will! But not now!" Ladybug struck her arms out in front of herself, shaking her hands to finalize the visual of the word STOP. It was an unnecessary gesture, though, because the leather-clad hero had already deflated. "Sometime within the next month! And you can't let me forget, because we need the strength boost before the akuma get too strong to battle without it. I just- we can't do it yet."

"Why not?" Chat demanded, the very second Ladybug had finished talking. His voice was just a pinch louder than his speaking voice, but he wasn't yelling. He wasn't angry. He just sounded confused and, more than anything, hurt. "We could just call our transformations off right now, no one would see us- no one would know but us. I wouldn't tell anyone!"

"I know you wouldn't." Ladybug had wrapped her arms around herself, holding each hand on the opposite shoulder. She was forcing herself to hold Chat's eyes, no matter how much the burning green hurt in them stung her to the core. "I'm just not ready. I don't want..."

Chat Noir watched her face carefully as she trailed off, trying his best to read it. There was a short uncomfortable pause, after which both of them tried to speak at once, and were followed by another silence as the two allowed the other to speak. In the end, it was Ladybug who spoke first.

"I don't want you to be disappointing."

Adrien was thrown for a loop. He had never once seen Ladybug, Heroine of Paris, afraid to disappoint anyone, let alone him. In fact, she was normally looking rather disappointing in him, herself. He couldn't try to insist that she would be anything less than amazing to him, or that she was perfect regardless of who was under the mask, but couldn't find the words to express his thoughts the right way. Now would be the worst time to put her up on a pedestal, and there was no other way he knew how to word his thoughts.

"The other side of the mask doesn't change the side I know. You can't- I won't-" he groaned, then put on a reassuring smile "You'll never be anything less than amazing to me, my lady. Now, let's get to patrolling."

It was the first time in their experience as heroes that Chat had ever rushed Ladybug to start patrol when it was being stalled. Normally he was the one stalling it. Marinette couldn't think far enough to point out that he was being so nice, and instead just nodded and followed him across their usual path.

 

\------------------------

 

Paris never ceased to amaze Marinette. She had lived there her entire life. The same small bakery on the same side street in the same extraordinary city. As much as Ladybug belonged to Paris, the city itself also belonged to her.

It was customary to the duo to stop at the end of their patrol, once they reached the rendezvous point again, and sit on the roof and stargaze. The tradition started one night when a very tired Ladybug laid down to catch her breath and cool off before returning home, and Chat Noir could not bring himself to refuse more time with his lady. Now, every week that they patrolled, the two would lay on their backs with their feet in opposite directions and their heads side-by-side, so if they turned to the other they would be met by their upside-down pair of eyes.

Tonight was no exception to this rule, but their post-patrol calming session was no less silent than the patrol itself had been. It was a comfortable silence, though, in which both of the heroes recognized that there was no real need to talk at the moment, and instead reveled in the company of a friend.

The ring beeped, and Chat Noir's left hand flew to cover it up to muffle the sound.

"You have to get home." Ladybug had heard, because there was no hiding a sound so unwelcome in their happy silence.

"I don't, really." Chat said, still facing up at the stars.

"You do. It wouldn't be fair for me to know you when you don't know me."

"I would accept it."

"Chat."

The two had turned their heads by now, and Ladybug's eyes held an almost parent-like scold in their baby blue frame. Chat Noir nearly shriveled up under her stare.

"Alright, fine." he stood up and was suddenly in front of Ladybug, holding out a clawed hand to help her to her feet. Rolling her eyes, she took it, and was pulled gracefully up. Chat Noir swept down onto one knee, her hand still in his, and planted a careful kiss onto the back of it to the rhythm of his ring's warning.

"Goodnight, my lady." Adrien spoke, without drawing his lips away from her hand.

Ladybug was silent, something stirring in her chest and stomach as Chat Noir hopped away through the rooftops back to his home. She wasn't sure how much longer she stood there after he was out of sight, but it would have been easy to put together if she had tried.

It was a three minute swing home, and her earrings beeped just as her foot made a connection to her balcony.

Marinette let the transformation fall around her, and was just about to crawl into the trap door and onto her bed when she saw a little black-winged butterfly flying toward the pavement below. On it's wings were glowing purple veins, giving away it's identity. Quickly, Marinette clapped a flowerpot over the akuma, then sat back on her balcony with the flowerpot in front of her. She was sure the akuma was still there, because every few seconds a small purple glow would emit from under the rim, or from the hole in the bottom of the pot. She had never seen one on it's way to it's victim before. She had seen the direction it came from. She was closer to finding Hawkmoth now than she thought she would be within the next year.

"Are you going to transform again?" Tikki asked tiredly "Because if you are, I need something to eat first."

"Yeah, Tikki, I think I have to." Marinette said slowly, getting to her feet "I'm sure there's something sweet downstairs."

She set a potted plant atop the empty flower pot for extra safety measure before rushing down into the bakery. There was a plate of cookies in the display tray that her mother had forgotten to clean up, and would likely just be thrown away in the morning. The little spotted creature jumped into the plate, eating what she needed as quickly as she could.

"All I have is a general direction." Marinette thought aloud, running a hand through her frazzled hair. A lot of it had come out of it's pigtails by now, reminding her to take them out and fix them.

"That's enough." Assured Tikki, between bites "The akuma travel in straight lines, unless they have to go around something. There are only a few buildings tall enough for it to have been flying downward."

Marinette made a vague sound of understanding, hair tie in her mouth. She partially didn't want to go find this building. It was too soon. It made her sick to her stomach.

Once Tikki was full and ready to transform again, the two ran back up to the balcony to put Ladybug's spots on. She lifted the two pots and quickly cured the akuma, setting the white butterfly free, then trapezed off in the direction it came from.

Quite an amount of time passed before she came across any building high enough to have sent the butterfly downward. She didn't quite recognize this building, either, sense she was only looking at it top-down. The very top of the building looked like it only existed to add an extra story-and-a-half of height. There were no windows Marinette could see and no outdoor decorations.

'Like they don't want to draw attention' Tikki noted in Marinette's mind. She nodded, and tried to inspect further. She discovered quickly that one of the four walls was made of a sort of black metal, instead of black brick like the rest. This wall seemed to be retractable, because it had different layers of metal that overlapped each other ever so slightly. At the top of the building, what Marinette had failed to see, was a small opening. What drew her attention to it was a single white butterfly fluttering inside.

Ladybug managed to get onto the roof easily, and walked slowly to the center where the opening was. She could barely fit her arm in, if she tried. There was not any function apparently visible, other than to let butterflies inside. No chimney or air vent. It was just a small hole in the roof.

Marinette peered inside and her stomach dropped. On the floor, though she couldn't make out the difference between any one and the next, were hundreds of slightly glowing white butterflies, appearing to be asleep. She backed up from the opening with a hand on her chest.

'You can't do this alone.' Tikki said calmly, but cautiously 'Wait for Chat Noir. Put a marker on the map on your compact.'

One step ahead of the kwami, Marinette had already started making the note. She checked to see if Chat was available to call, though she already knew the answer. Once she was able to stand again without her knees falling out from under her, Ladybug swung swiftly back to her home.

And though Marinette was in bed by three in the morning, she did not sleep at all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A tale of very exited best friends, confused cats, and even more confused butterflies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly, I want to thank tumblr user maskyrchanart for beta reading this chapter! In later chapters, I may need more than one beta reader, so look out for those opportunities if you're interested (they go to people who comment)! And read some of masky's works, too, she's a good writer and cool person!

"Oh my god."

The small room went from dull and still to alive and bright in less than a second. Outside the window was Ladybug, hanging by the thread of her yo-yo wrapped around the pad of her foot, looking very tired already with her unknowing best friend's excitement.

"Ladybug is outside my room right now." Alya nearly shouted in said hero's face. She had scrambled off her bed to find her phone (on the floor beside her bed, she had dropped it as soon as she got home from school) and had her note app up and ready for every word her heroine spoke.

"Yes, hello. I, uh, could use your help." Ladybug mumbled, glancing anywhere but the reporter's face. She was ready to speak up again, but just as her mouth opened the girl screamed.

"MY HELP! You need my- okay, professional." Alya grabbed the chair from her nearby desk and swiveled it over, sitting down and crossing her legs, hands folded over her knee "I'm ready."

She wasn't ready, and Marinette could see it. She was shaking so much the chair nearly rolled away, held in place by a foot pressed firmly on the hardwood floor. As her best friend, she wanted to make the encounter more comfortable, but knowing she couldn't be her best friend right now, Mari had to do her best to play it cool.

"Uh, could I come in first? This wire is digging into my foot."

Before the question had even fully left Ladybug's lips, the girl was up and pushing the chair closer to the window in one swift, if jittery, motion.

"Of course! Sit here! Oh my god, sit there and face the window and don't move, I have to clean my room! I'm a mess! This is the worst!"

Alya went to work in a frenzy. She normally cleaned up the mess of her room from the night before as soon as she got home from school, but with her first three finals today, she was too tired. The first thing she hid was the pile of dirty clothes beside the door, which she simply shoved into the bottom of her closet. Next in line was the mess of a pile of CD's on the floor (which made Marinette smile more to herself, knowing they were given to her from Nino as a listening suggestion). Her solution to this part of the mess was to straighten them and place them on the small shelf under her nightstand. Finally, she shuffled the papers on her desk into one pile and shoved them under her school tablet.

"Okay, you can turn around!"

Ladybug swiveled around in the chair, facing the slightly-less-messy room and her overjoyed best friend, who was now sitting in a chair she must have pulled over from the corner. Alya leaned forward on her balled up fists, resting her elbows on her knees with a wide grin.

"So.... The favor-"

"You needed a favor!" Alya squealed, curling up into a happy little ball "A favor from me! Okay, okay, I'm good, lay it on me."

As her friend recomposed herself, Marinette thought of what exactly to say to get what she needed done without too much suspicion. Landing at square one with no game plan wasn't the worst possible outcome of the short contemplation, at least.

"I just- can you make a post on your Ladyblog?"

"Oh, I plan on it."

"Uh, of course! But, um, could you maybe add something to it?" Marinette looked around the room, taking in all the familiar air of her best friend's space before looking back to said best friend, who in no way looked familiar at the moment.

"Anything! What do you need?" Alya practically bounced in place, and her fists had returned to her cheeks in a way that would surely leave red marks near her jaw in the shape of her knuckles. It was a step up from screaming, at the very least.

"I need to send out a message to Chat Noir." Ladybug said a bit quickly, taking a deep breath and a glance to her legs to remember that she was in fact a hero and she could do this "I need him to meet me, he knows where, at six today."

"Ooooh, a rendezvous?" Alya leaned back, finally, and crossed her arms with a smug grin. "Do tell."

"No, no, nothing like that!" Ladybug struck her hands out in front of her to keep the suggestion at bay, her face turning a shade similar to her mask "I have some information that needs to be said, and soon."

"Tell?" She tried again. This was more comfortable now. Now it felt to Alya like the interview her best friend had set up for her not even a year earlier, and to Marinette like being berated with questions by her best friend on any other day.

"I can't." Ladybug said, a twinge of something in her voice, as if expecting to be pushed further to spill the beans.

She was met with a simple sigh "Alright, fine, I'll make your post. But why don't you just text him?"

"Uh, I can't! Phones get lost and stolen all the time, if someone sees the text I'll blow his cover." She looked away again, pushing herself back a foot for extra comfort. It was a good save for not knowing who her partner was.

"Makes sense." Alya hummed, rubbing her chin "Do you have time for an interview?"

Marinette considered declining and jumping out the window to the safety of her home just down the street, but with what Alya was doing for her, she couldn't. She deserved this much of a reward. She deserved to have as many interviews as she wanted, maybe Ladybug could even set her up with an interview with Chat Noir.

"Sure." She smiled "What'cha wanna know?"

 

\------------------------

 

Adrien reclined back against the headboard of his bed, supported by more pillows than any one person ever needed in their room. He had been notified not even a minute prior of a new post on the Ladyblog, via an app on his phone, and had spent every second after watching the video that had been put up. It was an interview with Ladybug, forcing him to wonder if Alya had gotten to her after a battle and scheduled this at some point. At the same time, he wondered how she had time to interview anyone with finals happening this week.

The video was nearly twenty minutes long, and he wondered where the girl came up with so many questions. He wasn't complaining, though. He loved learning everything he could about his lady, as small and insignificant a fact as it may be. The heroine was careful, though, and never gave away trivia that actually took Alya a step closer to finding her civilian self.

Near the end of the video, Ladybug's demeanor changed. Alya gave her the intro for her message, and she dropped her lighthearted air all at once. Adrien almost jumped.

"Chat Noir, I know you'll see this sometime today. Meet me at six o'clock, you know where. This is an emergency patrol."

When the video ended, after Alya's outro, the room was deadly silent. Adrien glanced at the clock at the upper corner of his phone, then to the little black creature demolishing a wheel of cheese on his nightstand.

"Plagg, I need my claws out."

 

\------------------------

 

It was actually closer to twenty minutes before Ladybug appeared. Marinette had very little time left between finishing her interview with Alya and getting home to feed Tikki before meeting her partner on the rooftops. She decided to give the kwami a little rest to boost, figuring that if they ended up pinned against Hawkmoth, she would need the energy.

She was very focused when she showed up, leaving little room for lighthearted greetings or flirtation. Chat Noir waited patiently when she walked onto the scene for her to speak. It only seemed to be what was right, sense she had been the one to call him here in the first place.

"I was up really late last night figuring this out. I think I found Hawkmoth's... place."

Adrien's stomach dropped. Hawkmoth had to be an incredibly powerful miraculous holder if his stone could grant superpowers to anyone he managed to manipulate. The two of them had nearly lost to his henchmen quite a bit recently, and to fight him head-on seemed stupidly dangerous at this point. At the same time, it was just as stupid to not investigate further.

"Oh." was a lot less than he wanted to say, but it was all his spinning mind could manage.

"Come on." Ladybug strode to the edge of the building, unhooking her yo-yo from her hip and swinging it to connect to the next building over "It'll take about fifteen minutes from here, I think."

 

\------------------------

 

Chat Noir was much more confused by the find than Ladybug had expected of him.

They were standing on the ledge above the retracting window that had first caught Marinette's interest. Chat hadn't done much other than stare forward with the part of his mask covering his eyes creased. He would glance down the way someone afraid of heights would every few minutes, but Ladybug knew better. He had stood on top of the Eiffel Tower and hung off the rails without breaking a sweat. This was nothing.

"Chat." Ladybug tried for what felt like the twentieth time, still without a response, "Chaton."

Chat Noir suddenly perked up and looked Ladybug in the eyes "I don't think this is right." he said surely "People can have fancy windows, I'm pretty sure this is a rather wealthy person's house, right? They can afford this, no problem."

Ladybug quirked her mouth to the side, then hooked her yo-yo to the ledge at the top of the building, pulling herself up onto the top of the roof. Shortly, she was joined by her partner.

"Do me a favor and take a look in there." she said, pointing sharply to the small hole in the roof. Chat blinked a few times, as if to be sure he was seeing it correctly, before kneeling beside the opening to peer in.

Surely enough, on the inside was a poorly lit room full of hundreds of white butterflies. He could see each of them individually, thanks to his suit-granted night vision. Each pair of white wings slowly pulsed with life as they awaited their master.

Chat Noir fell back on his knees and stared ahead again. His eyes were blank, glossed over, and his arms were slack at his sides. Ladybug crouched beside him and shook his shoulder.

"Chat?" she asked quietly, her face inches from his "Are you okay?"

Before the hero could answer, there was a mechanical whir behind them, from the direction of the osculating window. Without thinking, the two both jumped to meet the open window.

Standing on the ledge, they could see a hole in the glass behind the metal, barely big enough for a small person to fit through. A small person, like a girl with a thin frame and skin-tight suit, for example.

Ladybug pulled Chat Noir around the corner, so the fully opened window would not reveal them. Quickly and quietly, she started thinking.

"If I go in that window, can you find an entrance on a lower floor?" She asked, holding her partner's shoulders to keep his focus on her face rather than the rotating metal around the bend. He nodded. His room wasn't quite at the top of his house, but it was close enough to get there quickly.

"Good. I have to go, before he releases an Akuma. You start downward right away."

With another nod, the two split up. Ladybug hurdled the glass and slipped into the opening without any difficulty, landing on her feet in front of a very stunned Hawkmoth. His hand was hovering inches away from the other, just about to enclose a white butterfly. At the sudden commotion, the butterfly fluttered away, and when the villain took a step back, those that were still lazily sitting on the ground fluttered up and around the room.

"You can't- how did you-" Hawkmoth stuttered, stepping steadily backwards toward his door. He lifted his walking stick up and held it at a defensive brace. When Ladybug's yo-yo started twirling in a blur beside her, he lifted his cane up and whacked at something just above the door.

Multiple hanging valves in the room exploded with white smoke, blinding the heroine before she could make it to the door. She threw an arm over her eyes, the other hand meeting her mouth as she coughed. It was at least a minute before the vile air faded and let her move again. By then, Hawkmoth was long gone, down the hall and who-knew-where-else. Marinette cursed, stomped her foot, and ran after him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The reveal Adrien never wanted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading! This is the longest chapter I've written so far, over 3000 words! Also, thanks for half a hundred kudos!

Adrien was dizzy.

There were a lot of unexpected things that happened within the year and a half sense he got his miraculous, and most of it was things he had dreamed of before but had never really expected to happen. He wanted to be a superhero when he was a kid, but figured out that it was unlikely by age twelve. He wanted to chase after a mysterious and powerful lady, but what boy didn't? He wanted an escape from being Adrien Agreste, but when would that ever happen?

Nearly everything the boy had ever unrealistically dreamed for had happened in such a short amount of time. However, even after Plagg and his ring came into his life, Adrien never expected to be bounding up the stairs in his own home, as Chat Noir, searching for his enemy that had been hiding right under his nose.

And who would that make Hawkmoth? The large estate was only home to four people, and two of them were knocked off the suspect list immediately. Adrien, being Chat Noir and also himself, and Nathalie, being a woman. Adrien couldn't think of anything Guerilla would want, other than maybe a bit of a raise for all that he dealt with. Nothing worth trying to take over the world over. That just left his father, and...

Shaking off the thought, Adrien ran past his own room. His head was spinning, adrenaline pumping through his veins, and he was starting to get sick to his stomach. He couldn't afford to overthink anything yet. He just had to keep going up.

 

\------------------------

 

Marinette wasn't a slow runner. She was clumsy out of costume, granted, but once her spots were on she could likely run a marathon and back. The only reason she was so behind her target was simply that she didn't know where she was. The hallways were neatly rowed beside each other in this mansion, each one leading to a different wing with a different purpose. She had chased Hawkmoth through all of the top floor before he descended the stairs. This would take ages if he got to lower floors.

Ladybug lept over the railing on the stairs, forcing the villain back up to the top floor. He didn't dare try to run past her. Unfortunately, whenever she found them running down a straight enough hall that she should be able to lasso him, he would turn a corner. This would be a much easier chase once Chat Noir found his way there. Who knew how long that would take, with the confusing layout of the upper floors. Marinette was sure she wouldn't have found the top floor from the bottom up, herself.

The hallways were starting to look familiar, which told the heroine that she had chased him in a circle at least once, making it easier for her to predict his next turn. She lashed out her yo-yo, which wrapped around itself and crumpled to the ground when its target darted into another door. It was the same reinforced steel that the two had darted out of at the beginning of the chase. Hawkmoth had locked himself back in his lair.

Pounding a fist on the door and cursing, Ladybug resigned to standing patiently outside the locked door. If he sent out an akuma, she would be able to find it. He wouldn't be able to hide after this, so she braced herself for a last-ditch strength enemy.

Chat Noir finally made it up the last set of stairs by then, fully aware of how exhausted it would have left him were he not in his suit. He had never been in the top two levels of his own home. The one directly above his room held his father's room, and he hadn't known there was another above that until today. He'd never had a reason. He'd never wanted a reason.

There weren't many varying hallways on the top floor. There was a locked wooden door, which was a question for later, a small bathroom, and a turn of a corner up ahead. Slowly, as if expecting an akuma to jump out at him and feast on his confusion (could they even nest in someone just for confusion?), he turned the corner. An exhale of relief escaped him when he saw his lady standing in front of a metal door.

"Ladybug." He said, partially just for the familiar comfort of saying her name "You're okay, thank God. Where's..."

He trailed off, watching his partner nod toward the door she was stationed outside of. As he made it to her side, his gloved hand rest on the cold door, trying to will it open. He looked to Ladybug again, hoping she would speak, but she seemed to want Hawkmoth to think she had left. Not likely, but he had to respect it.

Something outside crashed, and the two ran to the nearest window at the end of the hall. They could barely see the ground from their fourth-floor perch, but it was certainly an akuma attack. The possessed civilian was built like a brick wall, and seemed to be conducting traffic, in quite a literal sense. As soon as the threat was identified, Ladybug started trying to open the window, if it could open at all. Chat Noir knew better, because this particular type of window was present in more than one part of his house. He pulled out his baton and extended it, shattering the window. It would be fine after the battle, anyway.

Together, the two broke the glass shards around the edges of the window off and let them fall onto the carpet at their feet. Once the window was safe to jump through, Chat took the lead. He lept, using his extended weapon to catch his fall and fault him toward his enemy. Ladybug, once the window was free of her partner, swung out by her own weapon's string.

 

\------------------------

 

The akuma became aware of the heroes as soon as they left the safety of the Agreste mansion. He turned to face them as they respectively made their ways at different speeds toward him. The first to reach him was Chat Noir, and he was batted out of the air easily by a hand roughly the size of Chat's entire body. The akuma was huge, almost as big as Ivan's was way back at the beginning of all this. He seemed to have fur, poking out of his black suit at the neck and wrists.

'Like a guerilla', Adrien thought sadly. That was the last candidate holding him back from having to face the facts. Once again, he forced the thoughts away, arms shaking as he brought himself to his feet. Chat Noir was quite used to being tossed and whacked around, so Ladybug knew something was wrong when she landed lightly on her feet beside him.

"Are you okay?" she asked, offering a hand. His chest tightened in gratitude, and he nodded, taking her hand for support and forgetting to let go.

Guerilla stomped a foot, roaring as every car parked on the sides of the street revved to life and shot toward the heroes. The two were vaguely aware of Hawkmoth's symbol appearing across his face as Chat's baton extended upward to lift them both out of harms way. The cars hit the staff at its base, knocking them forward, but the fall was much preferred over the alternative.

"His watch." Adrien mumbled, squinting to see the reflective purple beneath his cuff.

"How did you see that?" Ladybug nearly yelled to be heard over the roar of engines around them. It was taking a lot of dance-like jumping to not get hit.

"Cat-like senses." He said too quickly, launching himself into the air for a vantage point. He landed just behind his enemy, attempting to sneak around to his wrist and whack the watch into pieces, but was batted away like a fly. He landed on the hood of a car as it zipped by, making an indent in the metal in the shape of his silhouette. He was vaguely aware of Ladybug crying out for him, but was far too hurt and nauseous to pay it mind. The car he was now hitching a ride on came to a sudden halt, sending him flying forward and skidding across the asphalt.

It took Adrien a moment to his feet, head spinning. When he managed to focus his vision on the battle, he saw his lady struggling to keep the upper hand, but never faltering for a second. He wanted to be as much of a help to her as he normally was, but no matter how far back he pushed his thoughts, they came buzzing back. His entire body felt like static, like he would glitch and stop existing if he didn't focus on it.

The akuma grabbed the yo-yo's string in both hands, slamming the bug on the other end of it down into the pavement. The car with Chat's body imprinted on it revved and turned around to face her, and suddenly everything that was fading in and out of being real solidified and started moving at lightning speed. Chat Noir started running before the vehicle managed to start turning around, and had Ladybug in his arms by time it started speeding toward them. He stood defiantly in front of the Guerilla as the purple outline of a butterfly lit up his face.

"Chat." Ladybug said, trying to lift her legs and place them on the ground. He didn't let her. The car was getting closer.

"Chat, we need to move." She tried again, voice getting pitchy as panic set in. The car was now a mere ten feet away.

"Chat Noir!" She screamed, as Chat himself jumped up and vaulted off the roof of the car, making an indent of his feet to match the one of his body on the hood. There was no grace to the landing, but Adrien had managed to twist himself around and land on his back, Ladybug landing safely onto his chest.

The broken up car went on to smash into Guerilla, making him stumble back and fall. Ladybug resisted the urge to tell her partner exactly how stupid and dangerous that move was to instead zip up via yo-yo string and land heels-first on the adversary's wrist. The watch broke, and out fluttered the darkened butterfly from the shattered remains.

As his lady went through her usual end-of-battle routine, Chat Noir became aware of the discarded red and black spotted matchbook on the ground. Looking over to his right, he saw the respective burned up shell of a car. She had thrown a match into a gas tank, but when? When she lifted said matchbook and threw it into the sky to heal all the damage the fight had caused seemed as good a time as any to ask such a question.

"When did you use Lucky Charm?" Adrien asked simply, looking to her earring for an answer before she herself could even offer one. There were four spots left, meaning he had been laying on the pavement uselessly long enough for her to get into a situation that she needed her ability to get out of, and to use it, before he even realized he was laying there uselessly.

"Just after you got hit by that car." Ladybug confirmed, focusing in on his face "Are you okay, by the way?"

"Physically, yeah." Chat answered, looking to the door of his house "You go feed your kwami and meet me in the mansion afterward. We have to catch him before he can send out another."

Skeptical of his wording, Ladybug nodded in agreement anyway, hooking her weapon onto a higher building and swinging away as Chat Noir ran into his house and up the stairs. This time, he'd be to the top in half the time it took him last. This time he was absolutely sure of who he was looking for, even though he hated it.

 

\------------------------

 

At the top of the stairs, Chat Noir was met with a mildly disheveled Gabriel Agreste, stopping him in his tracks. He had known exactly who he was meeting at the top of the stairs, but he couldn't bring himself to take another step forward. Not when his lungs felt as flat as they did. Not when his eyes threatened to replace themselves with water entirely.

Gabriel finished tucking his scarf over the purple broach on his shirt, looking wide-eyed at the hero before him. He, too, had known that there would be no more hiding for him at this point, but wasn't quite ready to face the fact yet. To his surprise, weapon in hand, the cat only stared blankly at him. He looked like he was trying to finish a puzzle as someone also delivered him bad news. It was the heart wrenching mix of confusion and hurt. Gabriel couldn't pin down the exact reason this expression bothered him so much to see on Chat Noir, and long before he could manage the thought, Ladybug rounded the corner of stairs behind him.

The famous designer shifted his attention from one hero to the other, smiling politely at Ladybug as she looked to Chat for answers.

"As I just told your partner, I am sorry for the disruption. I had no idea someone was using my observatory in such a way. I suppose it's my punishment for not using it in so long." Gabriel explained, nodding toward the steal door "Your enemy is long sense gone now, though. I've checked. Feel free to inspect for clues on your own, though. I'll send Nathalie up so she can tell me when you two depart."

With that, he excused himself and walked down the stairs to his own room. Heart racing, he thanked the heavens that Chat Noir had stayed dumbfounded long enough for him to make his escape. They'd be back, though, and he had to plan for that starting immediately.

After Mr. Agreste was gone, Chat Noir wordlessly turned and walked back down the stairs.

"Um, Chat?" Ladybug said, looking between him and the top of the stairs before deciding to follow him "Earth to Chat Noir? Don't you want to look through Hawkmoth's layer?"

"I can do that later." He said, deadpan. Her mask raised in confusion as she walked beside him.

"You said we can't wait. Your own words. What happened?"

At the next floor down, Chat Noir turned away from the staircase and walked to the end of the hall, prying a window open. Ladybug didn't think to question how he knew this one would open, and instead followed him as he vaulted out and onto a rooftop across the street. She landed gracefully as ever, cocking her head to the side in silent questioning at her friend.

"What was-"

"Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth." Chat cut her off. He was sitting on a chimney, starring blankly forward as if this fact had shaken him to his core, because, little did she know, it had. For a moment, all Marinette could do was feel bad for Chat Noir, and she wasn't even sure why yet. After the silence began to get uncomfortable, she found her voice.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." He said, just as monotone as before "I saw the miraculous stone. He hides it under his scarf."

This time, it only took Marinette a beat to process his words, and now she was furious.

"Well, then what were you doing!?" She nearly shouted, stomping her foot angrily on the roof below her "We HAD him! And you let him get away!"

Chat Noir didn't respond. The faux ears on his head twitched forward as he continued to stare off. She couldn't see it, but he was fighting back tears.

"HEY! Are you even listening?" she spoke again. She was a little more mindful of her volume this time, but her tone carried just as much irritation as before.

"You're right. I messed up. I'm sorry."

Marinette froze. There were a lot of things she expected of Chat Noir. For example, she expected him to make bad jokes, and hit on her, and lighten heavy situations, and to stupidly charge into danger. Those expectations only barely scraped the surface. No where on that very long list, though, did Marinette ever expect her partner to sound so quiet and hurt. Her stomach twisted, and she wanted to apologize, but the lingering anger wouldn't let her. Instead, she decided to change the subject from his mistake to the other matter at hand.

"...Fine. It was shocking, I guess. I never expected Gabriel Agreste to be Hawkmoth." She mumbled, looking away and crossing her arms.

"...Me either..." Whispered Chat.

"Riddle for you, Chat Noir." Ladybug extended a hand outward inquisitively, "How does a man who already has everything he could ever want become a super villain? I don't get it."

"He doesn't have everything." Said Chat, just a bit louder than his previous comments had been, earning him a questioning hum from his lady "He lost his wife. A few years ago, I think it may have broke him." Ladybug started to wonder how he knew all this, what inside source had given him the information. because before about a half an hour ago, Marinette had been a diehard fan of Gabriel's work, and even she didn't know his wife had passed. She was interrupted before her questioning could even start, though.

"But no one noticed. Not even his son." Chat Noir suddenly spoke louder, inching closer and closer to screaming "If only Adrien had paid more attention."

Suddenly aware of his volume and the possibility of gathering the attention of the civilians on the streets, Chat bowed his head, cat ears laying back against his messy blond hair, and he dropped back to a whisper.

"All of this is his fault."

"Stop that." Ladybug said firmly, hands on her hips. She could accept a lot from Chat, but she wouldn't have him blaming Adrien Agreste for all their problems. It was one hell of a conclusion to come to, anyway. "You know better than to arbitrarily assign blame to someone you've never even-"

"Ladybug." Chat Noir cut in, turning to face her now with pain and tears in his eyes "I think that all of this is my fault."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now comes the time that I can link to Naptillmorning's comic.
> 
> http://naptillmorning.tumblr.com/post/145736239928/a-fun-reveal-scenario
> 
> I want to give a big thank you to this artist for being so cool and letting me write a fic around their comic, and an equally big thank you to those of you supporting it!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette has to face Adrien not as the guy she crushes on at school, but as one of her closest friends and partner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait on this chapter, I rewrote it so many times because nothing felt right. Thank you for your patience! Chapters will start coming out sooner when I find another beta reader, but until then, they will continue to be irregular.
> 
> Also, sorry for choppiness or imperfections in this chapter! I, like I said, am short a beta reader, so I only have one pair of eyes to scan this before it goes up. Feedback is nice, but be considerate. Thank you!

The next day was difficult. Getting out of the headspace of his superhero persona was a little difficult for Adrien, especially now that he bore the reality of his father being his enemy. He couldn't think of anything else, and the fact that Nino wasn't at school to babble to him didn't help. The straw that broke the camel's back, though, was that Ladybug knew.

Adrien had always imagined that telling her who was behind the mask would be a weight off his shoulders, and that the two versions of himself would be able to meld together when they were together. That she would be the first person to know every side of him, in and out, and love him for it all. He wasn't prepared for it to be the unfortunate opposite. Now the barrier between Adrien and Chat Noir was broken, and his lady was only confused.

It wasn't any easier for Marinette. She could see how visibly upset Adrien was, and he would smile when he spoke to her and Alya, but she didn't want to see his brave face. She didn't even want to see Adrien's face, for once. In this moment, she wanted to see Chat Noir's mask, and she wanted him to talk to her about his father and his identity like she knew he would if she had her own mask on.

Even after school, when both heroes wanted nothing more than an excuse to see their partner, there was no akuma attack to lure them both out in costume. Mari kindly declined an offer to go to Alya's house, using homework as her excuse both then and when she got home. Once alone in her room she quickly did what little bit of homework she actually did have, and poked her head down the stairs briefly to tell her parents she was taking a nap. Instead of that, though, she escaped onto her roof, put her spots on, and swung to a very familiar meeting place.

The sound of Ladybug's yo-yo string on the chimney gave her away, and the already present Chat Noir turned his head just as her feet landed firmly on opposite side of the roof from him. Although his words failed him, Adrien felt the weight in his chest lift. The nervous twisting in his stomach only got worse, making an uncomfortable knot that threatened to have him sick, but he could not mind. He couldn't imagine a better person to come across him in his time of need.

"My lady!" Chat exclaimed, rushing to his feet, "How'd you know I'd be here?"

"I didn't," Marinette admitted, both to him and to herself "But it was my best bet. I think we really need to talk to each other."

"When you say it like that..." Adrien trailed off, suddenly dragging his eyes to the roof beneath his feet instead of holding them on Ladybug's eyes.

"No." She shook her head "Not that kind of talk, we just-"

"I'm sorry I-"

"You were just stressed and I'm not-"

"But you're not ready yet and-"

"But I am."

Ladybug's last words surprised both heroes, and the two starred at one another with a look of mixed excitement and anxiety. The spotted heroine bore much more of the latter than Chat.

"You are?" Chat Noir nearly whispered, after a moment.

Marinette nodded her head, and let go of the breath she had been holding "But I have to clarify something first."

"Anything."

"I know you like to flirt and hit on me, and that's fine! It's never made me uncomfortable or upset, I just... If it's based off of any sort of actual feeling..."

Chat Noir's eyes met his hands as they nervously knotted together and grabbed at the strange leather-like fabric of his gloves. "I... Well, you, uh.... you don't gotta-"

"You might be disappointed."

At that, Adrien's eyes shot back up to his lady's. He could tell now that she was fighting something, and it was a demon he had presented her with. Mentally kicking himself, he rushed a step forward to comfort her.

"I'm not expecting you to be perfect." He said, searching her face for any sort of reaction "You can't be, no one can. I-"

"I'm not." Ladybug managed "I'm not like this, at all, once the mask comes off. And you know me! We go to school together! I feel so dumb for never putting it together, because you're still so similar in and out of suit."

"...School?" Adrien squinted, searching what he could see of Ladybug's face for any of his classmates, but quickly shook it off "But I'm not! Adrien's nothing like Chat Noir. Adrien's... perfect."

"Kind." Ladybug started "And a bit awkward. You always leave when an akuma attacks, but you always make sure everyone is safe and feels safe before you go. You care, both Chat and Adrien.... Care."

At a loss for words, Adrien took his distance back. He was listening to everything his lady had to say, though, and made sure it showed on his face.

"But, if you're.... interested... in me." Marinette shook her head "In Ladybug. Just, nothing's going to happen. Not yet, at least."

Hope sparked back into Adrien's chest, and he smiled brightly "But latter..?"

"Maybe." Ladybug was still avoiding his eyes "If you want to, still. But, for now, until Hawkmoth is out of the picture... Let's just be friends."

"And partners." Adrien boasted proudly "Paris' best superheroes."

Ladybug smiled shyly "Yeah. That too."

Adrien's proud smile slowly faded back into his sly one, and he leaned a bit toward Ladybug with his shoulder "Now... If I heard you right, you said you were ready for the big reveal?"

Marinette laughed, a dizzy mix between anxious tension and actual amusement, "Yeah, I guess I am, huh? So here's how it's gonna work..."

 

\------------------------

 

Pressing their backs together on a low rooftop in some back-ally part of Paris stood two of the youngest and yet most amazing heroes the city had ever seen. At the moment, though, they were not the heroes that the public knew. At the moment, they were in a limbo between those suited crime fighters and a pair of awkward high school students. Because, in that moment, there was no magic suit surrounding either teen, and their respective kwamis had long sense strolled off together to catch up and let the heroes have their space. They stood like this, silent and with their eyes held tightly shut, for at least a full minute before Adrien spoke up.

"You already know who I am." He said after a deep breath.

"Yes." Marinette replied, "But-"

"No buts." He cut in, quickly "We have to do this. You have a nice pair of parents, from what I've heard. They'll worry if they find out you're gone."

"They've never noticed before."

"Don't test your luck." Adrien smiled at his silly joke, "Anyway, we can't stand like this forever."

"Well, I can."

"I can't." He laughed "Photo shoots, remember?"

Marinette laughed, "Alright, fine."

"On the count of three..."

Mari took a deep breath "...One."

Adrien found her hand with his and tangled their hands together, unknowingly making her heart skip a beat "Two."

"Three." The two spoke together, both pivoting to face the other as they did. Before Adrien could truly see his lady's face, though, the two had both fallen. Marinette, with a bit of a shriek, slipped off a shingle of the roof and was hanging over by the hand Adrien had grabbed. Adrien, on his stomach, looked into his classmate's face in shock for a few moments too long.

"Cha- uh, Adrien... M-maybe you could, uh-"

"Sorry." Adrien mumbled, placing his feet on the roof again and pulling Marinette back up onto it as well. He had left little room for her, though, and the two stood nearly nose-to-nose as he continued his stunned stare into her face. Marinette shifted, looking at her feet to be sure she was at no risk of falling off again and taking him with her this time.

"So, uh," Mari started, looking back up at Adrien's unreadable face, "In case you don't know, and that's okay I mean I wouldn't be shocked, uh.... My name... is-"

"Marinette."

With grace she didn't know she had, Marinette side-stepped out from in front of Adrien and rushed back up to the center of the roof "Yeah! Uh, we have class together, I sit like right in front of you, we talk sometimes."

"Yeah." Adrien slowly started to smile, but his face was still unreadable to Marinette. All she could truly gather from it was 'stunned', but there had to be something else, right? He could be disappointed, or happy, or amazed, or amused, or... anything other than just plain 'stunned'.

"Um, my favorite color is pink. My parents own a bakery. I like designing... uh...."

"You're kind," Adrien's smile turned sly "And you handle situations before running off to transform, and you care."

"I, wh- hey! That's my line!"

The two burst into laughter. Not the sort of laughter that Marinette was used to in the presence of Adrien Agreste, not that nervous laughter that pulled on every nerve in her body. This was a light, happy, easy laugh. The kind of laugh that let every muscle loose and would hurt her stomach in the best way if it kept up. The kind that Adrien rarely had without his mask on, that he had shared once or twice with Nino and so many times with Ladybug.

"I don't think I have your phone number." Adrien said once he had enough breath to do so.

"Uh, wh-"

"Well, what's the point of knowing you're my lady if I can't text and call you to let you know about akuma?"

"Oh, right!" Marinette grabbed the little purse that had appeared on her body again when the transformation ended "Akuma."

When Adrien was handed the phone, he quickly put in his number, made a contact in her phone for himself (complete with horrible three-chinned ID picture), and called himself to do the same on his phone.

"Oh." Marinette scoffed, looking at her phone "What a nice pictu- Chat!

Cut off by a flash and the sound of a phone camera's fake shutter, she glared at her partner, who now had a beautiful half-blinking photo of her attached to her phone contact.

"You have a bad one of me! It's only fair!"

"You took the bad one of yourself!"

"It's still blackmail!"

 

\------------------------

 

"At least you live with a kid who makes food for you." Plagg lamented to his other half "I have to beg Adrien to buy me even the tiniest scrap of camembert"

"Somehow I don't think that's the full truth." Tikki said with a playful smile, then brought her attention down to the roof they were re-approaching, "Look! They're talking! They're... arguing?"

Plagg zipped a few feet closer to the two heroes so he could better hear the squabble about pictures and blackmail and the difference between right and wrong, and laughed "Ah... young love."

"They're okay?" Tikki asked, stopping beside Plagg just in time to see Marinette take a picture of Adrien on her phone and laugh about his reaction "Ohh, I get it, they're playing!"

"Flirting." Plagg corrected "They're just really bad at it."

 


End file.
